If the best way to get to know a city is by walking, the second best way has to be by running.

Today, May 10th at 6:00am marks the start of Cairo Runner’s first annual half marathon.  The start and finish line is in Heliopolis (Almaza Garden, Marghany St).

Get out and run!

In addition to the 30 EGP registration fee going to The Egypt Liver Institute and Egypt’s Special Olympics, this is a great opportunity to get a little exercise for yourself and perhaps see a part of the city that you aren’t familiar with.  If your not up for running, consider cheering from the sidelines.

Our friends at Cairobserver have a wonderful post up today on the half marathon and some of its political and urban design implications:

Cairo Runners has ignited its own revolution that challenges the accepted norms and injects athletic life into Cairo’s streets on a regular basis. Until Cairo Runners it was rare that athletes would take to the streets for exercise, partly because of the crowdedness and pollution. But also because the city has not invested in creating pedestrian friendly routes that encourage jogging.

Read the whole post and an interview with one of Cairo Runner’s organizers at

http://cairobserver.com/post/49629259032/running-the-city-the-making-of-cairos-marathon

Start Here

For more info on Cairo Runners:

http://www.cairorunners.com/#!half-marathon/ck9v

info@cairorunners.com
01200009098 or 01224185739

http://cairobserver.com/post/46086204670/bulaq-the-struggle-over-a-neighborhood#.UXRYcIWbeyR

لقاء مع نائب محافظ القاهره عقب قطع أهالى بولاق لطريق الكورنيش http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn4JrnORrXI

بولاق أبو العلا : من يملك ؟ و من يعد؟ و من يستحق ؟

رسائل :

خرج أهالى مثلث” ماسبيرو” فى عدة وقفات أحتجاجيه حتى قاموا بقطع طريق الكورنيش فى أخر وقفه و ذلك بعد أستمرار تجاهل مطالبهم خلال الوقفات الأولى.

 تقوم المحافظه بالتفاوض مع ملاك الأراضى ( المستثمرين ) لمحاولة أصدار قرار أستيلاء على جزء من الأرض لبناء 64 برج لأهالى ماسبيرو لتسكينهم بها, و صرح نائب المحافظ بأن عملية بيع الأرض تمت بين الأهالى و المستثمرين دون تدخل من الدوله, و أن دور المحافظه يقتصر على التنسيق من أجل توفير مسكن بديل للأهالى.

أكد أيضا نائب المحافظ أن هناك مخططات موضوعه لتطوير المنطقه و تحويلها الى فنادق و مبانى أداريه و غيره.

عرض :

مثلث ماسبيرو هو ذلك المثلث الذى تتكون أضلاعه من شارع 26 يوليو فى المنطقه الواقعه بين قنصلية أيطاليا و كورنيش النيل مرورا بمسجد أبو العلا و الضلع الثانى شارع الجلاء فى المنطقه الواقعه بين قنصلية أيطاليا و فندق هيلتون رمسيس مرورا بشركة أسكندريه للتبريد و المدرسه الأرمينيه و الضلع الثالث طريق الكورنيش من الفندق لوزارة الخارجيه مرورا بمبنى” ماسبيرو”.

يخترق المثلث شارع أبو طالب الممتد من شارع الجلاء حتى ظهر جراج الخارجيه موازيا لطريق الكورنيش, و بمجرد دخولك الى شارع أبو طالب تجد الكثير من المشاهد التى تجسد أهمالا متراكما يتمثل فى الحاله المتدهوره للمبانى و السيارات المنتشره فى الطريق التى يعمل بعض من أهل المنطقه على أصلاحها من أجل الحصول على قوت يومهم و ليس لدي أغلبهم ورش خاصه فقد يضطر الى المبيت فى كثير من الأحيان داخل أحد السيارات ليوفر ثمن الذهاب الى مدينة النهضه ( أحدى الأماكن التى وفرتها الدوله كبديل لأزاحة السكان عن بولاق) , فى شارع أبوطالب يمكنك أن ترى وجوه أرهقها العمر, لكن أبدا لم يهزمها, بعض من هؤلاء السكان رحل أبائهم من النوبه القديمه و أستقر بهم الحال عند ساحل بولاق ( الميناء القديم للقاهره ), و لم يكن يخطر ببالهم أن أجيالا قادمه سوف تتعرض لشبح التهجير و لكن هذه المره فى قلب العاصمه و ليس من أجل مشروع قومى ولكن من أجل بناء فنادق و منتجعات و مونوريل و أطماع مستثمرين.

بولاق بشوارعها و حواريها و أهلها جزء أصيل من قلب القاهره و نسيجها العمرانى القديم و هي حلقة وصل بين شبرا و السبتيه و رمسيس و  القاهره الخديويه وهذا النسيج التاريخى هو دليل على الوجود و على البقاء.

موقع المثلث و المنطقه المخطط أزالتها داخله

من يملك :

هناك بعض المبانى فى المثلث ملكيتها ثابته أو على الأقل غير متنازع عليها مثل : القنصليه, وزارة الخارجيه, مبنى الأذاعه, الفندق, مجموعه من العمارات فى حاله جيده على شارع 26 يوليو و الكورنيش, و المدرسه الأرمينيه.

و بالطبع فأن محل النزاع هى بيوت أهالى المنطقه الذين ليس لهم سند فلا هم فندق و لا وزاره و لكن الدوله تتعامل معهم على أنهم ملكيه عامه يمكن التحكم فى مصيرهم حسب هوى السلطه.

قامت الدوله ببيع هذا الجزء من الأرض منذ عدة عقود لمستثمرين من السعوديه و الكويت بالأضافه الى شريك مصرى هى شركه تدعى ماسبيرو لا أحد يعلم من يقف خلفها, و برغم من أن الدوله لا تملك الأرض و أن أهالى المنطقه يملكون عقود للأرض ترجع الى بدايات القرن الماضى و تنتمى لأجدادهم  و لكن الدوله أتمت صفقة البيع و قامت بوضع مخطط لتطوير المنطقه فى أطار مخطط القاهره 2050 و قامت بتوفير مساكن بديله للأهالى على أطراف القاهره بمدينة النهضه و تم تسجيل العقود بأسم المستثمريين الجدد و ربما هذا ما تم أستغلاله للتحايل على العقود التى يمتلكها السكان حيث أنها تنتمى لعصر قبل أن يتم أعتماد نظام التوثيق فى الشهر العقارى و غيره , و حتى تضع الدوله السكان الذين رفضوا مغادرة منازلهم أمام الأمر الواقع قررت حظر الترميم و التنكيس للمبانى حتى يتثنى لها الأستيلاء على العقارات التى تسقط بفعل الزمن و يصبح الساكن أمام الرحيل للنهضه أو المبيت فى العراء, و لما كان أنهيار المساكن مسأله وقت لقدمها فكان حظر التنكيس و الترميم هو الحل السحرى للأستيلاء أولا بأول على أجزاء من الأرض مقابل مبلغ زهيد و شقه فى النهضه بأيجار أعلى من ااموجود ببولاق, و تكون هذه ورقه ضغط على السكان فى حالة أظهار عقودهم لتثبت أنهم قد تنازلوا , و أمام أبتزاز الحكومه لم يجد البعض مفر من الذهاب للنهضه و لكن الغالبيه صمدوا و ظلوا فى منطقتهم و أصبح الوضع الجديد أن الدوله بائع و المستثمر مالك و أصحاب الأرض الأصليين متطفلين, بل عائق أمام تطوير قلب القاهره فى حين أن بولاق ملك أهلها و القاهره ملك سكانها و ليست ملك مستثمر أو مسئول.

من يعد :

كن الوعد الأول هو أعادة تسكين أهالى المنطقه فى مدينة النهضه على طريق الأسماعيليه فى كتل خرسانيه فى الصحراء, بعيدا عن مدارس أطفالهم و أماكن عملهم و بعيدا عن محلات وسط البلد التى تمدهم بقطع الغيار و لوازم الحرف و الأعمال المختلفه من أصلاح سيارات و غيره, و أيضا بعيدا عن مختلف وسائل المواصلات فبولاق محاطه بمترو جمال عبد الناصر و موقف عبد المنعم رياض و العديد من وسائل المواصلات الخاصه ,و يترتب على هذا الأنتقال فى بعض الأحيان أخراج الأطفال من التعليم لعدم القدره على تحمل أعباء المواصلات و فقدان الأهل لوسيلة كسب الرزق المتمثله فى الورش المختلفه فلا يوجد من يقصد النهضه لأصلاح سياره مثلا.

الوعد الثانى بعد الثوره كان الأستجابه لرغبات الأهالى بعدم التهجير و بحث اليات أيجاد بديل ( حيث أن هولاء الأهالى حاليا ليس لهم صفه و هناك مالك اخر للأرض ), و تم التوصل الى بناء 64 برج على قطعه معينه من الأرض لم يتم تحديدها و أن كان الأهالى أقترحوا أرض شركة الأسكندريه للتبريد ب 22 شارع الجلاء و هى غير مستغله حاليا مع أستمرار تنفيذ مخطط التطوير من جانب الدوله و المستثمرين المجهولين على باقى الأرض, و أذا كانت الحكومه تنكر ملكية الأهالى للأرض من الأصل و تنكر أنها طرف فى عملية البيع فلابد من أن المستثمر قد أشترى من طرف ثالث !

الوعد الثالث و الأخير حتى الان عقب أحداث قطع طريق الكورنيش الأخيره و هو أعطاء المحافظه مهلة 3 أشهر للأهالى حتى تنظر فى قانونية وضع الأستيلاء على المساحه المطلوبه لبناء الأبراج و أن المحافظه فى وضع المنسق بين الأهالى ( المالك الحقيقى ) و المستثمر ( المالك الحالى ) حتى لا تتعدى على حقوق المستثمرين.

أرض شركة الأسكندريه للتبريد على شارع الجلاء

 من يستحق :

  مفهوم أن يكون طموح السكان هو ال64 برج فهو بالنسبه لهم أستحقاق أفضل من أن يجدوا أنفسهم فى الشارع أو فى مدينة النهضه فى صحراء لا يعلمون عنها شيئا و لكن الغير مفهوم أن تبارك الدوله بأجهزتها هذا الأستحقاق و أن تبارك مخطط تطوير يقوم بأزاحه مواطنين من أماكنهم و تكبيدهم متاعب يوميه أكثر و ليس مخطط لتطوير معيشة السكان أنفسهم و توفير حياه أفضل لهم فى محل أقامتهم.

أرض بولاق أستحقاق أصيل لأهل بولاق و أستحقاق أصيل لنسيج القاهره العمرانى و التاريخى لا ينبغى أزالته و لكن يجب حمايته و ترميمه و بقاءه كجزء من ذاكرة المدينه, حق تحديد المصير أيضا أستحقاق لأهل المنطقه فلا ينبغى لأحد التقرير بالنيابه عنهم بل دور الدوله هو حمايتهم من أطماع الرأسماليه و حمايه نسيج القاهره العمرانى القديم من خطر الأزاله, يجب توفير مسكن ملائم لأهل المنطقه على هذا النسيج و ليس فى أبراج. حق تقرير المصير هذا يجب أن يكون ناتج من حوار بين الأهالى و متخصصين و هذا يأخذنا لدور المحليات الغائب عنه التمثيل الحقيقى للمواطن.

القاهره تستحق أفضل من مخطط القاهره 2050, و تحتاج الى تطوير حياة سكانها الحقيقيين الذين هم دينامو الحياه اليوميه للمدينه و لا يستحقون التهميش, القاهره لا تستحق محو ذاكرتها المعماريه و تحويلها لدبى جديده تتنافس فى رؤيه النيل و أهلها يصارعون من أجل مأوى و لقمة عيش, قلب القاهره يريد أن ينبض من جديد بتحسين أوضاع سكانه و ليس بدعاوى تطوير زائفه, و كورنيش النيل حق لمواطنى العاصمه لا يجوز حرمانهم منه فى أنفاق حتى يتثنى لقاطنى الفنادق الأنفراد به بعيدا عن أنظار الماره.

 لا تحتاج القاهره الى أبراج زجاجيه و مجتمعات مغلقه جديده فى قلب المدينه لخدمة شريحه معينه تريد أن تنعزل عن باقى المجتمع وتنفرد بالنيل حتى تتحول فى النهايه القاهره الى مجموعه من الحواجز و الأسوار نتحرك بينها مثل الأقزام.

تساؤلات :

هل حل المشكله فى توفير 64 برج أم الحل هو النظر فى جذر المشكله ؟

هل يجوز قلب الحقائق حتى يصبح الأهالى هم المتطفلين وقطاع طرق و هم من يثقلون بطلباتهم على كاهل الدوله ؟

ما المقصود بمراعاة السلميه فى التظاهر السلمى ؟  السلميه تشترط توافر حكومه محترمه تنظر فى مطالب المواطنين من أول وقفه أما مقابلة الوقفات بمبدأ الكلاب تعوى و القافله تسير يفتح الباب على مصراعيه للتصعيد و تخطى حدود السلميه حتى لأيصال أصواتهم.

ما هو دور المحليات و المتخصصين ؟ و ما هى حدود دور المسئول فى أتخاذ قرارات مصيريه تخص حياة المواطن ؟

لماذا لا تخرج الدوله ممثله فى المحافظ أو أيا من كان بمنتهى الشفافيه لتعرض علينا الطرف البائع للأرض هل هى الدوله أم الأهالى ؟

هل من المنطقى وجود مخطط لتطوير المنطقه لأستخدامات أخرى دون وجود نيه  لأزاحة السكان ؟

هل من المنطقى أن تنكر الدوله ملكيه الأرض للسكان فى يوم من الأيام و تمنع تنكيس و ترميم المبانى و تعطى مقابل مادى من أجل نقل السكان الى مكان أخر و يكون الطرف البائع هو أهالى المنطقه و ليس الدوله؟

ما المقصود بكلمة تطوير هل هو محو ذاكرة منطقه و تغيير قلب المدينه على الخريطه, أم عمل مشروعات تنمويه تصب فى تحسين معيشة سكان المدينه اليوميه ؟

أذا لم يتم الأجابه عن هذه الأسئله بمصداقيه و شفافيه و وعى بخطورة ما نقوم به من أجرائات على المدى الطويل تؤدى الى طمس معالم المكان الذى نعيش فيه, فلنودع القاهره و لنرحب بعاصمه جديده كرتونيه, فالحلقه بين المواطن و المسئول و بين الدوله و المجتمع مفقوده, و ما بولاق الا حلقه فى سلسله متصله لمحو ذاكرة أمه بفصل المكان عن الزمان.

نعم للتطوير لا للتهجير.

  لقاء مع أهالى بولاق

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJM_mHmQYHE

     صوره من مخطط القاهره  2050

   ( مش متأكد من مصدر الفيديو ده )    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRxKT25fTsE

على محمد أحمد
مدرسة العماره و المجتمع – بوليتكنيكو دى ميلانو
جميع الصور من تصوير كاتب المقال

“Regeneration of Public Spaces in Central Cairo”

which will be held on Saturday 20^th of April 2013, at 9:30am, at the Faculty Club of the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza.

The seminar aims to bring together multi-disciplinary stakeholders to establish a platform of experts working on public space regeneration in its wide context. Through this participatory effort, we aim to share best practices, methodologies, approaches, as well as strategies in order to effectively tackle issues of planning, management, participation, Art and Culture and sustainability of public spaces in Cairo.

The seminar will be held in Arabic and will be divided into 2 parts. First part will include an introduction to the project . The second part will consist of a number of round table discussions followed by a brief of the seminar outcomes, setting the road map for a joint effort to regenerate our city spaces.

Kindly note that this is an open seminar, however a confirmation of your attendance is kindly required by filling out the  registration form, indicating preference for roundtable of your choice, and emailing it back to cairorepublicspaces@gmail.com  , no later than April 13^th, 2013 for logistical reasons.

Advert for Film Screening at Megawra

[This upcoming event is reposted from Megawra - be sure to check out their website]

MEGAWRA FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION; 6 APRIL 2013 – 19:00

MEDIANERAS; WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY GUSTAVO TURETTO

Medianeras (the name of this home-grown Argentine movie) is a Spanish term that refers to the tall and often windowless side façade of buildings. Gustavo Taretto (writer/Director) is trying to describe the network of interactions generated in Buenos Aires city as a representation of life in the modern era; this life which is full of segregation, contradictions and congestion. He also criticizes that modernity brought people closer in the world but further from their own lives.
The camera lingers on the skyline and the individual buildings of Buenos Aires, gray and inhuman. The buildings are seemingly endless, and many have blank, windowless sidewalls. These blank spaces are used for billboards, an ugly alternative to what could have been light-bringing windows, and many apartment- dwellers rebel by chipping through the concrete to place unauthorized windows.
Despite the urban philosophizing and exciting cinematography, “Medianeras” does not demand to be taken too seriously. It is an enjoyable romantic comedy movie.

Megawra  has pleasure of inviting you to screening Medianeras and discussing how close the architecture status in Buenos Aires to the one we live in Cairo and the effect of the city as architectural product on our daily life.

Kareem Nems

عرض فيلم ومناقشة بمجاورة: 6 إبريل 2013 – السابعة مساء

ميديانيراس: تأليف وإخراج جوستافة تاريتو

 Medianeras وهي كلمه اسبانيه للفيلم الارجنتيني المنشئ والتي تشير الي الحوائط الطويله الجانبيه من المباني الخاليه من الفتحات. جوستاف تاريتو (الكاتب والمخرج ) يحاول عرض شبكه التفاعلات المتولده في مدينه بيونس اٌيرس كتمثيل للحياة في العصر الحديث .هذه الحياه المليئه بالفصل العنصري والتناقضات و الازدحام . و ينتقد أيضا أن الحداثة التي جعلت الناس أقرب في العالم، ولكن أبعدتهم عن حياتهم.

الكاميرا تظل لفتره علي افق و مباني بيونس أيرس , فهي كئيبه وغير انسانيه , فالمباني لاتبدو لها نهايه وكثير منها يحتوي علي الحوائط الحانبيه الخاليه من الفتحات . هذه المساحات الخاليه تستعمل كلوحات اعلانيه وهي بديل قبيح عن  كونها فتحات لادخال الضوء. وكثير من السكان يتمردون بكسر الخرسانه لوضع نوافذ غير مصرح بها .
علي الرغم من التفلسف الحضري والتصوير السينمائي الشيق , ”Medianeras” لا يطلب أن يؤخذ على محمل الجد. فهو فيلم كوميدي رومانسي ممتع .

تسعد مجاوره بدعوتكم لعرض فيلم Medianeras ومناقشه تشابه الحاله المعماريه فبيونس أيرس والقاهره وتاثير المدينه كنتاج معماري علي حياتنا اليوميه .

كريم النمس

_______________________________

MEGAWRA (Built Environment Collective)
Address: 17 Amin Zaki St. Ard el-Golf, Cairo, Egypt.
Tel: (+2) 02 22911743
E-mail: megawra@yahoo.com
Blog: www.megawra.org
Facebook: Megawra focus group (www.facebook.com/groups/213229872049997/)

مجاورة_جمعية الفكر العمراني
17 العنوان : شارع أمين زكي ,أرض الجولف , القاهرة , مصر
رقم التليفون : 22911743
البريد الالكتروني : megawra@yahoo.com
المدونة : www.megawra.org
Megawra focus group (www.facebook.com/groups/213229872049997/)

Please check them out.  If you attend and would like to write a post or review on any of these events please let us know.

Invitation for a Press Conference:

“The World Bank’s Impact on Egypt’s Built Environment” 

Wednesday, 20 March 2013, 12:00 p.m:

At the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights office

6Dar al-Shifa St. (formerly Abd al-Latif Bultiya), Garden City

The Bank Information Center (BIC), in partnership with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)’s program on Housing Rights, will hold a press conference to present research by Yahia Shawkat.

The study examines the World Bank’s recent profile of investments in Egypt, and the impact of these investments on the state of Egypt’s built environment. This analysis points to a need for greater focus on citizens’ needs in the design and implementation of projects.

The World Bank and other IFIs have long played a role in financing and shaping development projects that contribute to the systems and services that comprise the built environment in Egypt. The Bank invests heavily in energy projects, infrastructure services, and water projects throughout Egypt, and provides budget support and technical assistance to the Egyptian government.

During the press conference the publication will be presented and the floor will be open for questions and discussion. In addition to Yahia Shawkat, the panel will include a representative from BIC.

About The Bank Information Center

BIC is an independent not-for-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., USA that partners with civil society around the world to promote transparency, accountability and social and economic justice at the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

N.B. Instant Translation to/from English will be provided during the press conference.

For inquiries, please call EIPR: 2793-3371/2/3

link to the invitation on EIPR website: http://eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2013/03/16/1659

الحياة هي في مكان آخر: الكشف عن الصوت العذب لتوم ويتس
Life is Elsewhere: In search of the sweet voice of Tom Waits

Megawra lecture on Tuesday March 26, 19:00.

محاضرة لأشرف بطرس عن العملية الإبداعية وخاصة تقييم المنتج الفني والمعماري من خلال  الربط بيم فن الرواية وصناعة الأفلام والأغاني والعمارة. ضمن سلسلة مجاورة للعمارة والفن.

A lecture by Ashraf Botros about the creativity process and mainly about: evaluation of art and architectural products, with references to novel writings, film making, songs and architecture. Megawra occasional architecture and art series  (in Arabic)

د.أشرف بطرس حاصل على دكتوراه في الهندسة المعمارية من جامعة القاهرة 1998 عن الثقافة والعمارة. يعمل في مجال التنمية المعمارية والتصميم العمراني.

Dr. Ashraf Botros holds a PhD in Architecture from Cairo University on architecture and culture. He works in the field of urban development and architectural design.

Facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/events/471469676253915/#

Information and link on the Megawra event on Thursday 28/3/2013
Hope to see you there and please spread the word.

الإحياء العمراني: تجاوز المبنى
م. جيسون هيلجفورت

Urban regeneration: beyond the building
Jason Hilgefort

قضايا التراث الثقافي والفراغ العام والسياسات العمرانية للواقع العمراني المعاصر بتفاصيله اليومية «القذرة» من خلال عرض لمشارع في تركيا والهند والمغرب والقبرص وذلك بحثا عن سبل مغايرة للعمل (باللغة الانجليزية)

بمجاورة – الخميس 28 مارس 2013 – السابعة مساء

Referencing works in Turkey, India, Morocco & Cypress, the discussion will focus on issues of cultural heritage, public space, policy, and dirty daily contemporary urban realities in search of alternative methods of operating.
(in English)

Megawra, Thursday March 28 2013, 19:00
Jason Hilgefort studied urbanism at The University of Cincinnati and architecture at UBC in Vancouver. His works range from New York to Bombay. He is a project leader at Maxwan A+U, and has his own office Land + Civilization Compositions. He is also a contributor to uncube magazine.

درس جيسون هيلجفورت العمران بجامعة سينسيناتي كما درس العمارة بجامعة يو بي سي بفانكوفر. وعمل في مدن بتباين نيو يورك وبومباي. يعمل حاليا مدير مشروع بشركة MaxwanA+U كما يعمل من خلا مكتبه الخاص Land+CivilisationCompositions . كما يشارك بالكتابة في مجلة Uncube

http://www.facebook.com/events/368948809885572/

Address and directions:
www.megawra.org/map

Mafto7 – Public space in cairo مفتوح – الأماكن العامة فى القاهرة

The animated clip I submitted to the Cairo From Below Our Urban Futures Ideas Competition contains three parts:

1)     Introduction of how public space looks in Cairo.

2)     Interviews with people saying what they would like to see in public spaces.

3)     Solutions without government help.

In Egypt, politics dictates how public spaces look.  The regime has passed laws and implemented policies, which restrict the access of Egyptians to public space – places where civilians would gather, talk, interact and even demonstrate or hold protest.  Urban spaces that could be used by people to gather and demonstrate were systematically divided or fenced.  This policy is not only limited to public spaces, but also affects urban spaces and leads to urban degeneration.

Public Space plays a huge role in society.  The typical image of Cairo is an over-populated city with a high-density of buildings and a lot of pollution. People yearn for change in their lives.  Public space provides the community with a place to relieve the stress caused by the densely populated city, including unemployment, low income, poverty, etc.   Here, people can communicate with each other, introduce themselves, celebrate together and engage in sports.  Public space is a benefit to community and is compromised of historical, cultural and social dimensions.  According to Omar Nagati, an architect and urban planner: “Public spaces unite all people: Men and women, Muslims and Christians, old and young, liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, etc.  If you manage to solve this problem, then we have achieved solving major social issues”.

We have seen what happened in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian revolution.  Mohammad Al-Asad, a Jordanian architect, said the following about Tahrir Square:

It was really fascinating how people took control and ownership of it.  I mean you had a group of people who would collect the garbage and recycle it, you had a pharmacy, you had a childcare centre all created in that public space.  It was truly a public space and people took ownership of it…

Many gardens are still closed with fences and remain unused, while there are other gardens that require an entry fee to enter, to which not all poor people can afford to go.  Many parks neither have seats and benches, or even simple playgrounds.  The government has ignored public spaces but promotes the development of closed communities (gated communities), private parks with playgrounds and shopping malls.

All of the points mentioned above are reasons why I started this project.  I collected material with my family and our neighbours from a small village.  Others I had previously never met, like Ulrike von Ruecker (founder of Rasheed22) also helped.  We collected ‘shwual’ (rice sacks) of different colours, stuffed them with ‘karina’ (component of palm trees) and used them as chairs. We created tables from plastic bottles which were used as chairs as well. I removed the label from every bottle and glued them together to make a sunshade. The reaction from the people was positive. We tested this project in three different places:

Genena al-Maza

1)     Genena al-Maza

2)     Genena in Hadeqa Koppa

3)     Public garden in front of the Bahria Academy

I left some of the chairs and tables in Garden 3, which taxi-drivers started using during their coffee/tea breaks.  The next day I saw a few other taxi drivers using the sunshade I made and one of the shwuals as a pillow.  The man who serves the coffee/tea had a small tent in which he kept all kinds of recycled materials.  I was very fascinated by the creative items he had made.

In Garden 2, I interviewed a young man who told me that the things I made are very good and he wished that they would have been there earlier.  He then pointed to the garden that is surrounded by a fence and said, “Why is this garden closed?  We used to spend a lot of time there as kids and grew up there.  Why is it closed?  It used to be open for everyone!”  When I asked him if he knows the reason, he couldn’t give me an answer.  The gardens that I chose are situated in the middle of two roads parallel to each other, as shown in the animated clip.  Private gardens are closed with fences, but have benches and playgrounds, while public spaces only consist of grass and palms.   That is why I made this animated clip.  I wanted to show everyone that it is useless to wait for improvements to happen by the elder generation to change it; it might take years or not even happen.  My intention was to make simple objects, which other people could use immediately.  Anyone can collect various materials and build interesting objects even better than mine.

Acadamya Ba7ria – Interview

I also believe that social interaction within a community is very important. People can regularly meet in their local garden to discuss the issue of public space in their neighbourhood and engage in recycling material together. This attitude will create a positive social impact on everyone and raise awareness on the issue.

Sara Hassan is an architecture student at Technical University in Vienna.  She is currently writing her master thesis, Mafto7 – Public Space in Cairo“ as well as is making a short film.  She is also an activist at Amnesty International in Vienna.  She hopes to reside in Cairo after her graduation this summer and to continue projects in public spaces in Egypt.

While Cairo’s tap water is heavily treated, the issue is Egypt’s wastewater and its treatment, as wastewater is dumped into the Nile. Because of this, concerns are growing as to the quality of Cairo’s tap water in the future. Gabal al-Asfar is a wastewater treatment plant in Cairo and has received a boost of $53.3 million  from the African Development Bank (ADB). Wastewater will be chlorinated before being released. The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation’s web site concedes reducing effluent will be one of its greatest challenges for the future.

External factors

Upstream of Cairo (i.e. to the south of the city), the Nile receives large flows of mostly untreated domestic, agricultural, and industrial waste-water:

a) Between the Aswan High Dam and Cairo, 43 towns with population exceeding 20 million and approximately 2500 villages discharge their wastes to the Nile.

b) Most of the residents in the region depend on irrigated agriculture for their livelihood, and 2.9 billion m³ of drainage water loaded with fertilizers, pesticides, and organic material is returned to the Nile annually upstream of Cairo.

c) More than 50 major factories discharge more than 250 million m3 per year of industrial waste-water with little treatment.

With such large upstream pollution loads, one might expect the Nile at Cairo to be very highly polluted, but this is alleviated by the huge water flow of the river, which takes the pollutants away quite effectively. On the other hand, Cairo is the largest water quality degradation in the region.

2. Internal factors

Contemporary rapid and almost chaotic growth of Cairo makes assessing the drinking water and waste-water networks difficult. Expansion of water supply networks without the parallel construction of sewerage systems, or the rehabilitation of existing systems has lead to serious water pollution problems.

Cairo’s drinking water is quite well treated, but waste-water treatment has many severe deficiencies. It is a dilemma that the government itself seems to be one of the biggest water polluters. Conveying Cairo’s waste-waters through agricultural drains is just shifting the environmental problem to other regions, so the original problem remains. In addition, this factor should be taken account when tackling the Mediterranean Sea pollution.

Cairo’s water question ought to be looked in the context of the whole country. In 2017, the Nile River will become one of the world’s most populated river basins. The then 90 million Egyptians, of which approximately 21 million are Cairo people, are very dependent on the Nile system. This creates a very politically fragile position for the country. It has long been understood that ruling the water of Nile means ruling the entirety of the greater Nile region. The question of the security of Egypt’s only water source brings to light a number of issues:

• There is a need to preserve of the waters of the Lake Nasser Reservoir, which supplies Egypt with its freshwater.
• There is a growing degree of stress to which the river is exposed, which is leading to a rapid degradation of Egypt’s fertile lands (e.g. the spread of brick and concrete for buildings in urban areas).
• The industrialization process is employing an increasing rate of population, which has led to a higher degree of pollution (e.g. sewage, drainage water, industrial waste).
• A near future challenge is coming from global climate change: what are the effects on the Nile basin?

b) Industrial waste-water

In Egypt the industrial waste-water is considered one of the main sources of water pollution because of the toxic chemicals and organic loading.  Even 80%of the whole country’s annual industrial effluent is discharged untreated into the Nile, canals, wells, municipal sewage systems, and the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt’s 329 major factories continue to discharge as much as 2.5 million m3 per day of untreated effluent into Egypt’s waters. The following results are that Egypt’s shores and coastal fishing and tourism are being damaged, areas around industrial zones are becoming inhospitable, and water purification is becoming very costly.

Cairo is one of the main industrial centers in Egypt. 40% to 50% of industrial activity is mainly located in the capital. Its public sector industries (75%) consist of chemical, textile, metal (iron and steel), food, and engineering and cement production operations. They use 162 million m3 of fresh water per year, and discharge 129 million m3 per year. Each day they discharge 0.75 tons of heavy metals. The private industries include tanneries, gasoline stations, and marble and tile factories. While most of the discharges to the sewage collection systems are from domestic sources, other industries in Cairo discharge 56 million m3 annually to the collection system, and in many cases, without pretreatment. Only half of the industry had, in 1992, some type of effluent treatment before discharging to the collection system. The limited data on this issue available restricts evaluation of different pollution concentrations from effluents from discharged waste-water. No accurate information is available of the amount of toxic substances.

“Even if heavy metals do occur in Cairo’s water, they are all below the detection level and thus do not present any threat,” said Edward Smith, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the American University in Cairo, who carried out two long-term studies of Nasr City and Maadi’s tap water between 2005 and 2008. “The problem is more with high levels of chlorine and trihalomethanes (THMs, byproducts of chlorine), which occasionally exceed local and international standards, but when you have to choose between dangerous diseases resulting from inadequate water treatment and high levels of those chemicals that might lead to future health issues; you opt for the latter without the slightest of doubts.”

One of the top priorities of the Egyptian Environmental Agency (EEAA) is the treatment of industrial waste-water. EEAA’s strategy is to attack water pollution at its source. The strategy consists of several issues:

• The focus will be no-cost or low-cost clean technology measures. This will include  better housekeeping with pollution reduction by as much as 60-70%. Where the situation is serious, waste-water treatment facilities will have to be installed.
• Working with the different sectors such as foods, soap and oil, textiles, and to examine the problems common to each sector (e.g. spinning, weaving and cotton ginning factories in Helwan and other southern places in Cairo who are notable polluters).
• Not focusing only obtaining a cleaner environment, but also on the economic benefits that will come in this process.
• In some industries, water recycling can be used. For instance in irrigation, afforestation, irrigation of non-edible agriculture (such as cotton, or even for the irrigation of vegetables and fruits, depending on the chemical content of the water), and sludge generated in the process of separation and sedimentation could be used for soil conditioning or composting.
• For most severe cases treatment facilities will be necessary. Such systems have been installed in certain industries, but some are not operating properly.
• Promoting local design and manufacture of equipment and facilities will bring the cost down by 70 percent. On-the-job training in operations and maintenance will be conducted as part of a built-in-program (for the Egyptian companies it is most useful to enter the huge industrial waste-water markets).

Most water pollution control projects implemented in Egypt have been made by the public sector. Within the private sector, few industrial waste-water treatment projects have been set up, since regulations are not enforced yet. But, this is likely to change over the next years. The new environmental law will require plant owners to clean up their discharges, so the industrial waste-water situation is likely to improve. The law will not only rely on a command and control approach with penalties, but it will also include economic tools and incentives. There will be fewer taxes on industrial waste-water equipment, subsidies, etc.

Therefore, Cairo’s drinking water is quite well treated, but waste-water treatment has many severe deficiencies. It is a dilemma that the state itself seems to be one of the biggest water polluter. Conveying Cairo’s waste-waters through agricultural drains is just shifting the environmental problem to other regions, so the original problem still remains. Also this factor should be taken account when tackling the Mediterranean Sea pollution.

It is essential that new water sources are found, and new agricultural areas and cities outside the valley are created. The only choice is to expand to the dry lands and, desert, which is described as ‘Egypt’s last frontier’. Such a solution could provide an alternative to Cairo and relieve the pressure coming from a growing population. There are already several new cities and agricultural areas in desert. The huge population density and deteriorated water pipe network causes a huge water loss in the city network that reach the values of 34-35% which is  equal to around 791 million m3/year which if saved can provide fresh potable water to additional 11 million inhabitant . Thus the solution is expanding into the desert thus decreasing the population density, installing new network and changing water consumption patterns will lead to a significant increase in water quality as also the water pollution won’t be fixed point source rather than distributed.

Besides finding new sources, water conservation is another strategy in national water management. In case of Cairo this needs commitment of government institutions and international donors, as well as Cairenes and local NGOs. Finally, if water consumption continues to grow intensively, Egypt will have to rely on extreme measures: The use of the non-renewable groundwater aquifers and expensive desalinization of seawater.

Ayman Ramadan Mohamed Ayad is an engineer and Water Resources Advisor at National Water Resources Plan (NWRP-CP), and has been involved in the future vision for Alexandria integrated water urban development.  He also teaches  applied hydraulics at Alexandria Universities, and serves as the Egyptian Coordinator for NAYD (Network of African Youth for Development).

Our Urban Futures Ideas Competition Final Event (photo by Meredith Hutchison)

The Our Urban Futures Competition was an amazing success, and Cairo from Below would like to thank all of the participants, the judges, and all others who helped to make this competition a possibility.  The following is a quick summary of the Our Urban Futures Final Event and Competition, summarized from May Al-Ibrashy’s (of Megawra) concluding thoughts:

Some of the presentations were about dreams: they asked you to fantasize and pointed to three p’s: performative, policy, and prospect aspects. They asked you to think and take a different approach, were global and strategic, concerned with networks and should in the future be refined and presented to policy and decision makers.

Other entries were based on field studies and prescribed specific solutions. These brought forward the problem of reconciling the city as a whole with small-scale solutions. There was an aspect of hybridity in many of the ideas where observations were combined with analysis of communal patterns and the author’s professional know-how. There was also a significant aspect of the person, with participants identifying their own personal obstacles with the city, including problems they faced on a daily basis.

Many of the participants presented ideas in direct opposition to standard urban thought which prioritizes planning from above. Finally, the event and the competition raised and addressed some very important questions: How can you control and how far can you dictate? Can you affect change on the government level and people will follow? Can you affect grassroots change and will the government follow? How much do you know and how much do you need to know before you act on your knowledge? When do we move from talking to doing?

The first prize winner of the Our Urban Futures Competition is: Nasr City Urban Valley.  The two runners up are: Sustainable Transit Upgrades and Mafto7. It is our hope that these ideas, along with many of the others submitted, will continue to be developed. In the coming weeks and months we hope to organize a workshop to advance some of your ideas.

While the competition is closed, we invite competition participants, and those who have an idea but were not able to submit it, to share your ideas with the broader community on our FB page and blog.  If you would like to write a short post for our blog pitching an idea (one from the competition or a new idea) to the community, we would be happy to showcase it on the blog and FB.

To competition participants: we hope the competition also served as a welcome to Cairo from Below.  If you have a blog post you would like to publish on analysis or opinion on more sustainable, equitable and transparent planning in Cairo, please send us a blog post proposal (one paragraph) or a draft post (750 word max please).

Please scroll down or visit our Facebook site for more detail on the entries

You are invited to join the competition entrants and judges to attend a seminar on the ideas and generated through the Cairo from Below ‘Our Urban Futures’ Ideas Competition.  Our esteemed judges are in the process of evaluating our wonderful 22 entrants to make the difficult decision of who will take 1st, and runner up prizes.

We are holding the symposium at Megawra architectural hub on January 19th from 17:00-21:00 -  17 Amin Zaki St., Ard el-Golf, Cairo, Egypt  (www.megawra.org/map) to announce winners and promote the growth of their ideas through a lively seminar discussion. We hope that the winners might have the opportunity to find mentorship in the future for their excellent contributions to improve issues they feel Cairo is currently facing.  Please email CairofromBelow@gmail.com if you can join us!

The generous sponsorship and generous support of the Global Travel and Learning Fund through IIE (Institute of International Education), Megawra, and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs through the Leous Parry Award, has been truly inspiring to those of us at Cairo from Below, as well as the greater Cairo from Below community.

Program

Cairo From Below -  ‘Our Urban Futures’Ideas Competition  – Seminar and Award Ceremony

19 January 2013

Megawra , 17 Amin Zaki St., Ard el-Golf, Cairo, Egypt  (www.megawra.org/map)

17:00 – 17:15      Registration and exhibition viewing

17:15 – 17:30      Opening remarks – Ahmed Borham and Meredith Hutchison

17:30 – 18:00      Review and open discussion – competition submissions – session 1

Moderated by one of the competition judges

18:00 – 18:15      Coffee break

18:15 – 18:45      Review and open discussion – competition submissions – session 2

Moderated by one of the competition judges

18:45 – 19:15      Review and open discussion – competition submissions – session 3

Moderated by one of the competition judges

19:15 – 19:25      Presentation of publication concept – Amr Abdel Kawi

19:25 – 19:45      Announce winners and award prizes

19:45 – 20:00      Synthesis and Closing remarks – May al-Ibrashy

20:00 – 21:00      Reception

The Entries are In!

The entries are in for the Cairo from Below Our Urban Futures Ideas Competition and these brilliant visual representations of problem & solution have been promoting much discussion, excitement and the flow of ideas on the Cairo from Below Facebook page and the competition album. 

Once again thank you to all of the Our Urban Futures participants! We are very excited about the outstanding ideas submitted and the conversations being generated! The facebook voting will close on January 10th.

As you can see from the examples, participants have been moved to express their visions, from ideas promoting improvements in transportation to those suggesting the structuring of green systems in urban planning. Participants shared their ideas for housing solutions that encourage partnership between the public and private sectors. Some participants believe the solution lies in participatory planning and changing the status quo. Themes of reclaiming and re-addressing the use of public spaces (vertical and horizontal) are seen throughout the entries. A clear call to “DO” is a common string that ties the spirit of this competition together.

We look forward to the days and weeks to follow, as the entries are judged and opportunities for participants grow. We hope that this is one step in a long and ongoing discussion, debate and call to action on the urban future of Cairo.

Details and guidelines are available here for your reference.

Photo from Universitas Forum (http://www.universitasforum.org/index.php/ojs/article/view/46/191)

Do not hesitate to contact cairofrombelow@gmail.com with any questions, comments or concerns.

Good luck, the Cairo from Below Team

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فترة تقديم الأفكار لمسابقة “مستقبلنا العمراني” ستنتهي يوم الخميس القادم

اقترب الموعد النهائي لتسليم أطروحاتكم إلى مسابقة “مستقبلنا العمراني” ونحن نتطلع بشوق لتقييمها…كما تتطلع لجنة التحكيم إلى الإطلاع على رؤاكم حول مستقبل القاهرة العمراني….وأنه حقاً مصدر إلهام لنا أن نتابع الإبداع والتعاون الذي جلبته هذه المسابقة 

تستطيعون إيجاد تفاصيل المسابقة والمبادئ التوجيهية هنا

للتواصل اولطرح سؤال أو إضافة تعليق نرجو مراسلتنا على العنوان التالي:

     cairofrombelow@gmail.com

حظاً موفقاً

مع تحياتنا

فريق عمل القاهرة من الأساس

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